


Are You Still With Me?

by JackyRamada



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-02-07 03:50:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21451558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackyRamada/pseuds/JackyRamada
Summary: A moment between Daryl and Carol, and the unspoken shared history between them.A few words on death and love.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon & Carol Peletier, Daryl Dixon/Beth Greene, Daryl Dixon/Carol Peletier
Kudos: 18





	Are You Still With Me?

The two of them had talked about Lydia. No, they had fought about Lydia. Fought loud and angry. But she wasn’t scared of him- never had been. And she wasn’t scared of losing him somehow. He’d always been there since the very beginning. They would survive this too.

They’d fought loud, but now they were in the quiet together. The quiet aftermath. They stayed like that for a while.

But she could feel him itching to say something.

“Dog’s name is Beth.” Daryl said out of the blue.  
Carol looked at him, caught off guard. “Beth?”

Daryl nodded, glancing at her, feeling a bit self conscious. “Thought it fit.”

Carol sized him up with a long stare. “What does Maggie think about that?”

“Dunno.” His eyes shot down to his boots. “She never said nothin’ about it.”

“Hmm.” She didn’t look away. Tried to size him up. Didn’t quite know what to make of it. So many people had died. And once they were gone, it was almost easier to forget their names. She couldn’t see what made Beth different from any other dead girl.

As if he could read her mind, Daryl spoke again. “It’s going on ten years and I still think about her. Think about her all the time.”

“Why?”

Now Daryl looks at her. “She gave me hope. Hope that there’s still something good in this world. Hope that there’s a reason to go on living.” He hold's her in his eyes. "We ain't animals like them. Lashin' out stupid in anger and hunger. We stand for something. Something real. And we got people we gotta live for."

“She’s dead.” It was a good deal sharper than she meant to say it. But she knew what he was getting at, and it stung too much.

“I’m lucky. That I got to know her. She ain’t gone. I got her- in my heart. Every time I find something good I think of her. What she did for me. And I go on living and I stay good.”

“My son’s dead Daryl. A stupid dog’s not going to change that.” Carol picked up her pace and began to march past him. Before she was more than a couple steps ahead, Daryl grabbed her arm. She whirled around and glared at him.

Gently, Daryl put his hand to her chest. “He’s here. He’s with you. If you’d never met him, you wouldn’t be what you are. You got him in your heart. Keep him there.”

Carol softened.

For a long moment she just looked at him. 

“I got you in my heart too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please like and/or comment! <3


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